Saturday, March 2, 2013

The International GREEN CT Realtor

This past week I've had International real estate on my mind. I think the trigger was the dental hygienist who cleaned my teeth while we chatted about how she lives in Switzerland 6 months of the year, and the differences between Swiss German and High German. Seriously, I could have talked to her ALL day. I almost invited her to lunch afterwards... that wouldn't be weird, would it?

Instead, I worked on a page for my main real estate website, www.lynnminnick.com on what I think might be...

A few helpful resources for those considering an International Move...

Prudential Relocation is our company site with links to information like the Department of Motor Vehicles, Education & Tourism. It offers a menu of all of our relocation services.

Shanghai - photo credit Scott Minnick

Brookfield Global Relocation Services owns our Prudential Relocation Services and has a website devoted to Global Relocation Services with areas such as "knowledge centers" where you can watch free webinars on topics like The Richness of China's Culture or US Inbound International Assignment Challenges.

Another resource, this one aimed towards business & management, is Totally Expat - "The Forum for Expatriate Management." This site has current news articles from around the globe on studies of global mobility, updates on work permit laws, immigration news, changes in work-rights, and global business announcements, etc.

Specific to 31 cities around the world, Expat Info Desk is a collection of advice & helpful links to each of the cities, and sells a relocation guide to each of them. As I haven't purchased a guide, I can't talk to the quality of their guides, but reading their tips for the various cities was interesting and I did learn a thing or two.

There's a British blog Expat Explorer with advice from those living & working abroad. One of my favorite features was their hints page which addresses things like making a successful transition, overcoming culture shock, connecting with people in a new country, etc. It's the kind of information that is helpful regardless of your reason for relocating.

I also have a favorite blog Lost in Cheeseland written by an American who married a Frenchman and lives in Paris. Lindsey (who also just wrote an article for the New York Times!) writes the most helpful information about Paris, and there was a fabulous post about the process of Becoming a French Expat.

For those with children, I really liked Expat Child with all kinds of advice & resources for families from preparing for the move and helping them adjust afterwards. (It's also helpful for general travel with children, which is a big part of my life...we're headed abroad again this summer!) I particularly enjoy reading the stories & anecdotes as I feel a strong connection to this community. As a child I experienced 2 International moves, and then studied abroad in college, so if you have questions about how children will do with a big move, I'm happy to share my own personal experiences. With loads of family & friends living abroad, I also have contacts around the globe to turn to for advice.

If I can be of any help with your real estate needs, Internationally or locally, please don't hesitate to ask. It's what I do!